Poultry News

Carcass Decontamination Treatments Can Increase Antibiotic Resistance

27 December 2012

SPAIN - Decontamination treatments can increase the prevalence of resistance to antibiotics of E.coli naturally present on poultry, according to researchers in León.

Chemical decontaminants could favour the emergence, selection and/or proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains in microbial populations on poultry meat, according to Rosa Capita and colleagues at the Department of Food Hygiene and Food Technology at the University of León in Spain.

In a paper published online ahead of print in Food Microbiology, they report a study to determine the ability of various decontaminants to increase the prevalence of resistance to antibiotics in Escherichia coli populations on poultry.

Samples were analysed immediately after treatment (day 0) and after five days of storage at 7±1°C. A total of 250 E.coli isolates (50 from each group of samples; 25 on day 0 and 25 on day 5) were tested against 12 antibiotics of clinical significance by means of a standard disc-diffusion technique.

The researchers observed a high prevalence of resistance to antibiotics for E.coli strains from control samples, with three (6.0 per cent) isolates sensitive, three (6.0 per cent) resistant to one antibiotic and 44 (88.0 per cent) isolates resistant to two or more antibiotics.

Trisodium phosphate, acidified sodium chlorite and two organic acids were all effective in reducing the microbial load on poultry during storage. However, the treatments increased the level of resistance to antibiotics in E.coli populations. Treated samples showed the highest prevalence of resistance for 58.33 per cent of antibiotics.

Capita and colleagues concluded their results suggest that the chemical decontaminants tested could favour the emergence, selection and/or proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains in microbial populations on poultry meat.